Tears of an Angel
by AoD263
Summary: Crushed by his defeat at the hands of Sasuke, Naruto vows to become stronger. He desires to change the world, to defeat the need for hate. Answering this call for strength, Jiraiya promises himself to make Naruto stronger than anyone else.


**Tears of an Angel**

Prologue: Storm

Naruto opens his bright cerulean eyes for what seems like the first time in years, the stunning white blinding him. He sighs, knowing this room all too well. He curses softly, his hatred of this room intense, but justified. Naruto tries to sit up, an intense burning sensation building in his chest. He curses again, but this time it lacks the same softness. "Sasuke," he mutters, anger, disappointment and pain building all at once. "Wasn't I good enough?" His eyes burn, and he can feel his tears building, his final gift to his wayward brother. The tears run down his face, and he makes no move to stop them. He begins to laugh, wondering if he can remember the last time that he truly cried.

He stares at his right hand, the desire to become stronger fiercely implanted in his mind. With difficulty, huffing as he moves, Naruto manages to rise to his feet. His tears have not stopped, reflecting the light like a kaleidoscope, the colors of the rainbow represented many times over. He takes unsteady steps towards the window, ignoring the pain in his chest that has yet to reside.

Naruto braces himself against the wall, staring out into the cold, dark night. He sees the trees rustle, the breeze swift. The moon hangs in the sky like a silver orb, soft moonlight streaming into his hospital room. The clouds gather on the horizon, giant and gray. Lightning crackles in the distance, a flash of blue light, as thunder booms. Rain falls, lightly at first but picking up speed. A storm approaches Konoha. The burning in his chest does not reside, even though he has stopped moving. He realizes, with a start, that it is not pain; no, that burning is his anger.

"Boy," A deep voice booms, but Naruto does not avert his gaze. "What are you doing out of bed?" Jiraiya asks, already knowing the answer. Naruto never was a boy to laze about, always spending his abundant energy in some manner.

"Does it matter?" Naruto places his hand against the cool glass, the rain beating down against it. "Kyuubi heals me regardless. Will it ever end, Jiraiya? This hatred? This anger? The reason he left. The reason I hurt, the reason Sakura hurts. I couldn't stop him. My will to protect wasn't enough to match his desire to hurt. I want to be stronger. I don't want anyone else to hurt." Naruto declares, his colder eyes reflecting his new found lost of innocence.

"Even if you have to bleed to do it?" Jiraiya asks, his faith in the boy growing with every passing second. Jiraiya smiles at Naruto, knowing that he can't see it. Maybe this truly will be the boy to change the people of this wretched world, to show them hope.

"I'm always bleeding. It might as well have a purpose." he answers, turning to face the man closest to being his father. "Jiraiya. . . Teach me. Make me strong. Strong enough to weather the coming storm." Jiraiya laughs, a booming sound that echoes in the small, dead room. The irony kills Jiraiya, because he knows deep in his heart that Naruto is the storm.

"We leave in the morning." His mentor answers, ready to atone for his past mistakes. Jiraiya walks out of the room, his long legs taking powerful strides, leaving Naruto to his own devices. The young man sighs, staring at the clean white walls. He's always hated these walls. They remind him of hate, of the anger that often sent him into this room. A cage to keep him trapped in.

'_**Boy. . .**_' An ancient, powerful voice calls out to Naruto. He knows what it is. '_**I can feel your hatred. . . You want to kill the Uchiha, don't you?. . . Feel his blood coat your hands. . . Your anger beckons to me. . . It wants to be released. . .' **_Naruto does not answer, not feeling the need to.

'_**Together. . . We can crush that pathetic bug. . . Destroy his pride and his hate. . .' **_Naruto laughs, an empty sound. '_Destroy his hate? Destroy hate with even more hate? That will never solve anything.' _The beast roars, but Naruto does not respond. Naruto closes his eyes, but he can feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to raise, and he rolls off of the bed, a kunai piercing the mattress.

A tall man with a blank ANBU mask stares Naruto down, his standard issue armor making no noise as he draws his katana. Naruto growls like the beats he contains, ripping the bandages off of his body. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He cries out, several replicas of him popping into existence. Five of the copies leap forward, the katana of the assassin cleanly slicing through the neck of two, who disappear in a cloud of smoke.

One of the clones smashes his foot on the assassin's arm, as the man blocks the obvious kick. Another clone charges in under the clone kicking the assassin, slamming his fist into the man's throat, knocking him back into the wall. Naruto rushes in, the point of his elbow driving into the man's solar plex, and Naruto can hear and feel the air being knocked out of his lungs.

The assassin's body vanishes in a poof of smoke, and Naruto ducks down, watching the katana slice clean through the wall. Kicking back like a mule, Naruto pummels the assassin's leg with the sole of his foot, backhanding the man with his knuckles.

"Not bad, Naruto." The assassin says, Jiraiya replacing him with a cloud of smog. "Your training begins now."


End file.
